So what exactly is this World Cup thing I’ve been hearing so much about?

Perhaps you’ve noticed more soccer advertising and discussion centered on the World Cup competition that starts Friday, June 11th in South Africa. The world’s biggest stage for soccer will begin in earnest as 32 national teams will battle for the right to be crowned the ultimate soccer power. Played every four years, soccer fans from around the world turn their attention to see which teams will surprise, which side crumbles, and who ends up becoming their nation’s newest hero.

The 2010 World Cup logo. The world's biggest soccer competitions visits South Africa, as 32 teams vie for the right to be called the world's best soccer nation.

Even the Portland Timbers are getting in on World Cup fever, sponsoring various viewing events around town including a special match during the first game weekend. The United States will face England in the opening round, and you can watch the game live at Portland’s Directors Park in downtown Portland. Plus, during halftime, the team will be unveiling its brand new crest to be used by the MLS Timbers that start play next year.

To get everyone psyched for the tournament, I thought I would put together a question and answer session about the World Cup. Asking questions of me in pure South Park style is evil Kip from a parallel dimension, as evidenced by the goatee.

Evil Kip: So what is the deal with this World Cup anyway?KK: We’ve talked about FIFA before as the sanctioning body of soccer worldwide, and they are responsible for coordinating all of the soccer rules and federations, plus setting up competitions and tournaments between their members. Their biggest tournament by far is the World Cup, played every four years in a FIFA member nation for approximately 5 to 6 weeks. It really is a worldwide competition, because every FIFA member has a chance to qualify for the tournament.

Each region sets up a qualifying process for the World Cup for teams in their region, taking almost 3 years to complete that process. As much as possible, they try to schedule matches during times when club soccer has little to no scheduling conflicts.

The evil version of Kip, as evidenced by the goatee and completely confused look. Perhaps he was in a parallel dimension at the time of this picture.

EK: So there’s a difference between club soccer and the national team?KK: Yes, only citizens of a country may play for their national team, while clubs that play in various leagues can draw talent from anywhere. The nice thing about FIFA is that a player’s rights can only belong to one club and one national team worldwide, and so while they might change clubs, they will always play for only one national team. MLS (USA), the Premiership (England), Serie A (Italy), and Bundesliga (Germany) are examples of leagues that play club soccer.

EK: How does a player get selected for the national team?KK: We’ll use the United States as our example. The U.S. Soccer Federation, which is a member of FIFA, will set up camps for prospective players to come and try out to be part of the national team, but coaches may also find players by scouting club matches throughout the world. National teams may also use the qualifying matches and other competitions as an audition point for players to show their skill. Once you have been selected, the national team can recall you to play in any competition for them.

FIFA and their member regions try to help things along by finding gaps within regular league schedules to play qualifiers, and put general dates by which qualifying rounds must be completed in order to make the tournament.

One of the authors of this fine blog, trying to match wits with his evil counterpart.

EK: So the only way for a nation to play in a World Cup is to qualify?KK: The country chosen to host the World Cup is automatically qualified, but otherwise, you have to earn a berth through the qualifying tournament either by placing within a top position in your region or by winning a play in game between middle seeded teams from different regions. In order to host the tournament, countries must have the facilities needed, such as a certain number of soccer stadiums, a domestic league, and a federation willing to take on the expense.

EK: I seem to recall there were some exceptions made in the hosting thing recently.KK: FIFA doesn’t like to bend the rules, but in 1994, the United States was able to be the host nation despite not having a domestic soccer league, as MLS was created after the 1994 tourney. In 2002, FIFA allowed the Republic of Korea and Japan to co-host the tournament, the first time that multiple countries shared hosting duties. Otherwise, they like to have a single host.

The United States actually took third place in the 1930 tournament, but had some rough luck in qualifying between 1934 and 1990, making only 3 World Cups in that time and being bounced out in the first round, including a stretch between 1950 and 1986 without qualifying at all. They made the round of 16 in 1994, and got to the quarterfinals in 2002, but otherwise, they’ve not come close to winning a title. We have achieved past the point of not making the field, though, as the US has done well within the CONCACAF region since 1990, qualifying for each World Cup since then.

EK: Once you have the 32 teams, then what happens?KK: FIFA then takes the 32 teams and puts them into a blind draw to fill 8 separate groups of 4 to play 3 opening round matches. The top 16 teams from the qualifying rounds, essentially the top 2 teams from each group, then advance to the single elimination knockout round. Teams pay very close attention to what group they get placed in, as few teams want to be placed in the group of death.

EK: Group of death?KK: One group of 4 teams that is very evenly matched, and surviving the opening round games will be an incredible task. For this season’s tournament, I believe that group G (Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea) could be considered the toughest overall group, although groups A (France, Mexico, Uruguay and South Africa) and H is close (Spain, Chile, Honduras and Switzerland). Each group has their own unique pitfalls.

EK: The United States is in group C with whom?KK: We drew England, which would normally be a tough draw but the English are dealing with major injury problems lately (no Rio Ferdinand, injuries to Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Gareth Barry). They are always tough, and are dealing with their own demons about past tournament problems so they are keen for a good performance. The other two teams are up and coming Algeria, and Slovenia, who knocked off a very good Russian side to qualify. The Americans will need to play well, and not overlook anyone to advance.

EK: How do you see the U.S. Team doing?KK: I think they will do well, and could surprise as long as they can generate enough offense from Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. Former Oregon State player Robbie Findley will be a welcome addition off the bench being the fastest American player, while former Portland Pilot Steve Cherundolo will help anchor a fairly solid back line. We also have one of the better and more animated goalkeepers in the world in Tim Howard, who is as much fun to watch when he isn’t saving shots as he is in action.

EK: Who are you picking to win it all?KK: Most of the prognosticators are picking either Spain or Brazil to win it all, mostly because of their talent and style of play. They also have enough talent to survive some of the hurdles within their own group. I am leaning towards a couple of other nations to do well, though. I really think the German team could do well, as they have an easy group and a wealth of talent. I also think the Netherlands could be a dark horse, and you can’t count out the Italians even though they are unpredictable as to which team will show up. I think the Germans end up winning the Cup, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these other teams sneaks in and wins.

EK: It seems like a fairly even competition, or there are plenty of teams that could win it?KK: As with playoffs in American sports, the team that wins often isn’t the best overall team, but the group that is playing well at that point. It’s quite a bit to ask players who play months and months for their clubs to then come into a camp and play well with other high-caliber players, especially if you have two or more players used to being in a certain role for the team. Plus, national teams often have their own strategy, which is usually different from tactics that clubs try and employ. You also have to consider that players could be playing as many as 30 league games, exhibitions, other tournaments, and national team games over a three year period to get to this point, and it’s a lot to ask for someone to stay completely healthy over that period of time. That’s why often times, the tournament complexion changes dramatically over the first round as teams either rise or fall.

EK: How can I see matches then, especially if I want to be around other soccer fans?KK: Thankfully, serious soccer fans have put together a list of places to watch the matches, although some of them will require an early morning wake up call, as first round games will take place at 4:30 AM, 7:00 AM and 11:30 AM Pacific Time. Dave Strom of daveknows.org fame has put together a Soccer Viewing Bars site with a specific World Cup viewing link. You can locate bars, cafes or restaurants in various parts of town that will be showing matches or you can huddle at home to watch most games on the ESPN network of channels. Regardless of where you choose to watch, this should be a very entertaining competition to watch.